12. Seattle Storm: Sophie Cunningham, 6’1 G/F, Missouri
Here’s Katie Smith on Sophie Cunningham: “I like her game. Good size, scores in a variety of ways, competes, doesn’t get bothered by a whole lot, guards, knows what she needs to do and when she needs to do it and seems like an amazing teammate. I think she’ll compete. Where she’ll end up, I don’t know if somebody will snag her at the end of the first round, in that area, or she’ll make it into the second. But she definitely has the skill set and some decent size to play in the league.” If that doesn’t sound like a Dan Hughes player, a perfect psychological fit for the defending champs, worthy teammate of Breanna Stewart and Sue Bird, then I don’t know who does. Cunningham will make threes, she can work as a facilitator at times in lineups to allow Bird and Jordin Canada to play off the ball, she’s lethal in transition on a team that creates lots of turnovers, and even her early defensive adapting can be cleaned up by rim protection out of Stewart and Natasha Howard. How many rookies can you imagine getting key minutes in a title defense? It’s a short list, and Sophie Cunningham is on it.